Contents:
1) In Your Box this Week
2) Farm News

• A Few Quick Announcements
• Behind the scenes look at how we get the vegetables to your kitchen
  
• JBG Returns to the Austin Farmer’s Market… Farmer’s Market Saturday Pickup?
• Donations for the Interns
• Any leaves you might be trying to get rid of? …we could use them for mulch!
• Cash or trade! Bartering for work
• New Workshare Schedule: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8am to 1pm

3) Events

• Greenhouse Construction from the Ground Up
• Green City Festival – just two blocks from the Farmer’s Market
• Holiday Festival Wine Tasting
• Slow Taste of Tuscany
  

4) Quotable Food
5) Recipes
6) Produce Storage Tips
7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info

1) In Your Box this week:

Hakurei Salad Turnips
Kale or Collards
Tomatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Kohlrabi
Piquant Salad Mix
Basil
Acorn Squash
Sweet and Hot Peppers
Black Beauty and Dancer Eggplant
Okra (limited)
Green Beans (limited

2) Farm News

• A Few Quick Announcements

1. JBG seeks to grow a diverse assortment of high-quality produce while working to help minimize the distance from farm to consumer. We are currently expanding in an attempt to increase the impact we have on Austin’s local food scene and to help do our part in meeting Austin’s demand for locally grown, organic produce. As such, we are accepting new CSA members and are asking you to share the word so together we can continue to spread the values of the local organic farms and expand our community of mindful Austin consumers.  One way for you to do that would be to print the flyer off the link below, in color or black and white, and put it up on any bulletin board: work, church, coffee shop, bagel shop, children’s school, etc. Word of Mouth is our best advertising. Thanks for your help. http://jbgorganic.com/PDFs/JBG%20Flyer.pdf
2. Green Tomatoes. We had a member approach us at the market asking about her green tomatoes from her box two weeks ago. She mentioned that her tomatoes were still green after a week in the paper bag. I spoke with Brenton about this and he still suggests leaving the tomatoes in the bag and waiting for them to blush. They will turn red! Just in case you don’t want to wait though, I’ve included a recipe below for green tomato chutney. And this week the tomatoes in your boxes will be red!
3. We have a glorious idea for a holiday gifts…yes indeed…CSA gift certificates! Buy a four or ten week subscription for your friends and family and help spread the beauty of local organic produce this season.  Gift certificates are regular price.  If you’d like to order, call us at 512-386-5273 or email at farm@jbgorganic.com.
4. Holiday schedule change – Christmas falls on a Friday this year so in order to keep everyone home with their families we are switching that Friday drop-off day to Monday, December 21st. Therefore, pick-ups at East Austin, Hyde Park, Zilker, Bouldin, and Brodie/Slaughter will be on Monday, December 21, during the week of Christmas. There will be no pick-up that Friday, December 25th.
5. Lastly, its important that we have accurate contact information for all of you, particularly at this time of flux on the farm. We want to be able to contact you as we shift schedules to ensure everyone is able to pick up their boxes. You can log in to your account in order to update your phone number and email address yourself.

• Behind the scenes look at how we get the vegetables to your kitchen (a photo essay…sort of!)
  

Below you will find a video and a series of photos showing you the box packing process in the barn.  All of the workshare volunteers, employees and interns line up to make the process nice and speedy. Each individual is in charge of a different item to be placed in the box as it travels down the line. The last person in the line slides the boxes down the rollers where they are then loaded into the truck for take off.

• JBG Returns to the Austin Farmer’s Market… Farmer’s Market Saturday Pickup!

Keith and I returned to the Farmer’s Market this Saturday for JBG’s second week back. This week went very well. We had a better location for our booth this time, right along the main drag instead of tucked back in the parking lot. We are also starting to get ideas about how to make the operation flow a little more smoothly and make the tent look just a little more brilliant! We had returning customers from last week,  CSA members, workshares, and prospective CSA members all stopping by to make purchases. It was wonderful, as a new intern, to see the sort of following that the farm really has. Several people that are no longer members came by the booth to purchase their produce, as they remain devoted to JBG’s high-quality, certified organic vegetables.

We received enough positive feedback about the Saturday downtown Farmer’s Market becoming a pickup that we have decided to go ahead with it. It is currently in the works so please check back on our website and/or upcoming newsletters for more information and sign-ups in the near future.

• Accepting Donations for the Interns and their humble trailers!

We are happy happy to take any items with which you might be willing to part. Most specifically we are looking for a new washer and dryer (well, new to us!). However, we could use a wide range of items, from kitchen utensils to rugs. Old lamps, brooms and dustpans, clocks, stereos, bookshelves or other shelving, shades and curtains…you name it, we could probably use it! Any of these gifts would be truly appreciated. Please give us a call or send an email if you think you might have items to donate so that we might schedule a pick up in the box truck.

• Any leaves you might be trying to get rid of? …we could use them for mulch!

We are considering turning the garden in the front of the farm (currently our trial garden) into a garden dedicated to the Farmer’s Market. This would allow us to plant different produce on a smaller scale, which means we could bring a more diverse selection of items to the Saturday market. The leaves would be wonderful mulch for this, as well as for the small 15ft by 30 ft garden that the interns are working on right now. We are beginning our own small garden, nestled between our trailers, so that we might apply and practice all that we are learning each day on the farm.

If the leaves are in bags feel free to leave them at the end of Hergotz Lane by our greenhouse. (See address at the bottom of the newsletter) If you have a lot of leaves that are not in bags please send an email so that we might coordinate a drop-off.

Also, if you have any suggestions for items you would like to see at the Farmer’s Market let us know. We are always looking for feedback from our consumers and certainly value your ideas!

• Cash or trade! Bartering for work

We want to make it known that we are very willing to barter for your services here at JBG. We are currently looking for a plumber, for instance, as the new office that we are working on needs a bathroom too! We would be happy to make a deal and pay you in veggies if you’re interested (especially with plumbers!) Please spread the word.

• Workshare Opportunities on Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8am to 1pm

With our new weekday-only pickup schedule, we will have Workshare opportunities on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8am to 1pm. Saturday Workshare will be temporarily canceled as we adjust to the new schedule. We are going to start attending the Austin Farmer’s Market on Saturdays and need to figure out the timing and employee coverage on this before we can start up the Saturday Workshare hours again. As soon as we can, we will make Saturday Workshare available again.

All workshare volunteers get a share of freshly harvested vegetables in exchange for their help. If you are interested in participating on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com or call Carrie in the office at 512-386-5273.

3) Events

• Greenhouse Construction from the Ground Up

Saturdays, November 14 & 21; 9am-1pm

Support Urban Roots while you learn about effective ways to grow your own food. In this two-day workshop, participants will learn how to build a greenhouse from scratch and will also retrofit a hoophouse into a 2nd functioning greenhouse. In the process we will be constructing the Urban Roots greenhouse.

For this two-day event, we will have one hour of instruction and will
provide plenty of time for Q & As.  Participants will get plenty of
experiential learning opportunities and will get their hands dirty.  Please
help spread the word in order to help educate the community while supporting Urban
Roots.

Informational workshop sessions will be held on:

• greenhouse design and construction;
• greenhouse management;
• propagation principals; and
• soil mix creation.

Workshop taught by David Pitre of Tecolote Farm and Max Elliott of Urban Roots. This is a hands-on, experiential workshop. Be prepared to work hard, learn lots, and get dirty!

Cost: 60$. One scholarship slot will be available. Proceeds benefit Urban Roots. Urban Roots is a youth development program that uses sustainable agriculture
as a means to effect lasting change for youth participants and nourishes
East Austin residents who have limited access to healthy foods.
Learn more about Urban Roots, or donate online at
www.youthlaunch.org/programs/urbanroots.php

To sign up for the greenhouse construction workshop, or for more information, please visit www.youthlaunch.kintera.org/greenhouse. You may also contact Shirene Garcia at 512-342-0424 or sgarcia@youthlaunch.org

• Green City Festival (also from austinfarmersmarket.org)

Saturday, November 14 2009, 10:00am - 3:00pm

Join Sustainable Food Center and dozens of other nonprofits and city departments in helping make Austin the greenest city on the planet! Come and learn about a more sustainable way of living at all kinds of workshops, kid’s activities, talks, and a fair of interactive booths at City Hall and City Hall Plaza! 10 am to 3 pm.
P.S., get your sustainable food for fuel in visiting all these activities at the Austin Farmers’ Market, just 2 blocks away! AFM is open 9 am to 1 pm.

• Holiday Festival Wine Tasting (from austinfarmersmarket.org)

Saturday, November 14 2009, 9:00am - 1:00pm at the downtown Farmer’s Market

Capture the taste of Hill Country holiday flavors for all your local parties this season. The Market hosts the Hill Country Wineries in the first ever new festival setting where wineries can offer you tastes (just a lil’ 1/2 oz–it is Saturday morning after all!) and sell you the bottles of wine that you like!

• Slow Taste of Tuscany (from slowfoodaustin.org)

A celebration and special dinner at Primizie Osteria

We present this event as part of a celebration across North America of Slow Food and Douglas Gayeton’s new book Slow: Life in a Tuscan Town
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:00

Join us in honoring the simple and superb pleasure of fresh food that has been prepared slowly and locally.
Tickets ($85) include a multi-course feast highlighting local ingredients, an autographed copy of the book ($50 value), and a contribution to Urban Roots. Gratuity and taxes separate.

Please RSVP at www.primizieaustin.com by Nov. 6
Primizie Osteria, 1000 E. 11th St., Austin, TX
Telephone: 512.236.0088

4) Quotable Food
If organic farming is the natural way, shouldn’t organic produce just be called “produce” and make the pesticide-laden stuff take the burden of an adjective?  ~Ymber Delecto

5) Recipies

• Green Tomato Chutney (from inpraiseofleftovers.com)

You can deal with the tomato skins in one of two ways.  You can either blanch them in boiling water for one minute to loosen the skins, or do what I do.  Just cook everything, then pick through with a spoon and fork and remove the skins. Most of them will have fallen off and curled up into little cylinders during cooking. Of course you could make this chutney with ripe tomatoes, too, but part of its charm is the tartness that comes from the green ones.

2-3 lbs. tomatoes in various stages of ripeness, coarsely chopped
1 Tb. olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. red wine vinegar
2 Tb. chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tb. chopped fresh ginger
dash of red pepper flakes
salt

Heat oil in a large saucepan.  Add onion and ginger and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the rest of ingredients, bring to a boil, then turn heat down and simmer for about 45 minutes, until mixture is thickened, tasting a few times and adding more of anything to taste.  Remove from heat, let it cool, then store in the fridge.  Will keep for at least a week, and will thicken up a bit more when cold.
To make a galette, spread about 1/2 c. of your chutney over galette dough.  Lay about 4 oz. of sliced brie over the chutney and grate parmesan over the whole thing.  Fold the dough in to form a crust, then bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, until crust is golden.

• West African Groundnut Stew (from moosewoodrestaurant.com)

I’m not sure how well-known the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY is in this part of the country, but its cookbooks are fairly popular in the northeast if you are looking for a creative vegetarian cookbook that also includes vegan recipes. Their website gives a small, but nice selection of their recipes as well as information about their cookbooks, a number of which have won the James Beard Award. I recommend you take a peek at the website and read about their Collective that began as a small restaurant in 1973, and sift through some of their recipes.

Serves 6

2 cups chopped onions
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
½ teaspoon cayenne or other ground dried chiles
1 teaspoon pressed garlic cloves
2 cups chopped cabbage
3 cups cubed sweet potatoes (1-inch cubes)
3 cups tomato juice
1 cup apple or apricot juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
2 chopped tomatoes
1 ½-2 cups chopped okra
½ cup natural peanut butter

Sauté the onions in the oil for about 10 minutes. Stir in the cayenne and garlic and sauté for a couple more minutes. Add the cabbage and sweet potatoes and sauté, covered for a few minutes. Mix in the juices, salt, ginger, cilantro, and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender. Add the okra and simmer for 5 minutes more. Stir in the peanut butter, place the pan on a heat diffuser, and simmer gently until ready to serve. Add more juice or water if the stew is too thick.

• Winter Squash Polenta (from http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/)

Makes about 4 cups

ROAST SQUASH
2 – 3 pounds winter squash, washed (I used a small butternut and a medium buttercup)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Set oven to 400F. Carefully (so not to lose a finger) cut the squash in half either lengthwise or crosswise. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Rub olive oil on the flesh, season with salt and pepper, then place cut-side down on a baking sheet. Place in the oven, even if not fully preheated. Roast until a knife easily inserts into the thickest part of the flesh, about an hour. (If the squash halves are of different thicknesses and varieties and moisture levels, they will likely finish at different times. I set a timer for 30 minutes, then check every 5 – 10 minutes until all the pieces are done. If the squash exudes a lot of liquid, pour it off otherwise it will scorch.) Let cool a bit. Scoop out the flesh and mash with a potato masher or a fork. I used about 3 cups cooked squash, more would be fine, less would make this very much a “starch” versus a “vegetable”.

MAKE THE POLENTA & ASSEMBLE
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup coarse stone-ground cornmeal (I love the Bob’s variety, often kept with the specialty bread flours)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 ounces fresh Parmesan, grated with ribbon microplane (for larger pieces), some reserved
Salt & pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a medium non-stick saucepan on MEDIUM. Stir in the salt. Slowly stir in the cornmeal with a whisk. Reduce heat to MEDIUM LOW, cover and set timer for 5 minutes. When timer goes off, check to see if it’s cooking at a slow simmer, adjust heat accordingly and whisk gently for a minute. Repeat every 5 minutes, adjusting temperature and whisking. When it thickens, uncover and stir for 2 – 3 minutes. Stir in the butter and (most of the) Parmesan and stir til melted and glossy. Stir in the cooked squash and combine well. Taste and adjust seasonings. Transfer to a greased baking dish. [If you're cooking ahead, stop here and refrigerate. Return to room temperature.]

Top with reserved Parmesan. Bake at 350F for 60 minutes.

6) Produce Storage Tips

We aim to grow and package our vegetables to maintain the highest taste and nutritional quality possible. However, once they’ve left the farm it’s up to you to keep them fresh and nutritious. There’s no refrigeration at the CSA drop points so it’s best to pick up your box as early as possible. Here are some additional tips on how to store this week’s share:

• Peppers should be stored in the crisper, and washed before use.
• Basil can be stored upright in a jar of water at room temperature, or in an open bag on the counter. These three all do well frozen also (they will loose texture but not taste).
• Eggplants and Sweet Potatoes are best kept moderately cool, no lower than 50 degrees. A cool, dry dark place is best- on the counter, in a cupboard or basket. Don’t store potatoes near onions. The onions will absorb moisture from the potatoes.
• Green Beans should be kept in plastic bags or containers. They’ll last 3-5 days in the fridge.
• Kale and Salad Greens have the same crisper life and should be kept in plastic bags. Any bunch greens can be freshened by cutting an inch of the bottom stalks and soaking the entire bunch in cold water for 10 minutes. Place in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few hours to revive.
• Turnips should be stored in plastic bags. They’ll last two weeks in the fridge. Take tops off carrots before storing, leave greens on radishes, turnips and beets, with both roots and tops in the bag.
• Cauliflower wrap in plastic and use within a week.

Checkout our storage tips on our website for a more complete guide, and of course, feel free to contact us with any questions.

7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Information

Johnson’s Backyard Garden
9515 Hergotz Lane, Box E
Austin, TX 78742
Office Phone: 512.386.5273
Office Hours: M-F 8am to 12:30pm
e-mail: farm@jbgorganic.com
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